VANCOUVER, British Columbia – In the wake of a new study that indicates that unborn girls are being targeted for abortion by certain immigrant groups in Canada, evidence has surfaced that sex selective in vitro fertilization (IVF) is being regularly advertised in Canadian news papers.

A fertility clinic in Washington state has been targeting Indo-Canadians in British Columbia with an ad encouraging them to “create the family you want: Boy or Girl.” The ad features a picture of an ethnic boy and girl attired in traditional Indian garb.

A website address in the ad directs parents interested in sex-selection to the Washington Center for Reproductive Medicine where they learn that preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is the clinic’s preferred method for “selecting an embryo of known gender facilitating family balancing”.

Sabrina Atwal, project director for the Indo-Canadian Women’s Association in Edmonton said she was “appalled” by the ad and that it was indicative of the devaluation faced by women and girls in Indo-Canadian communities.